Self-cleaning conveyer



y 1953 G. M. JONES SELF-CLEANING CONVEYER Filed July 25, 1951 George M. Jbnes,

' INVENTOR;

BY WW @fiawhk ATTORNEY i atented July 21,

George M. Jones, Salt Lake City, Utah Application July 23, 1951, Serial N 0. 238,059

This invention pertains to road or pavement planing machines, and particularly to improvements in the construction of such machines as used for the levelling or planing of asphalt, bithulithic, macadam or the like types of pavements'.

In general, the invention comprises improvements in the type of machine disclosed in detail 'inmy prior copending application, Serial No. 33,827, filed June 18, 1948, and entitled Road Planing Machine. The device of that prior application has been found to work very well in practice, and particularly where the material being planed was relatively dry and nonsticky. However, where the cuttings are rich and sticky, it was found that such cuttings did not fall freely from the conveyor elements used toremove them from the road surface; consequently, the slats or blades. of the conveyor tended to become full of the cuttings, necessitating considerable labor to remove them, and

continuous operation was interfered with as avention to provide a road planing machine com- I prising a combination of elements which greatly facilitate the rapid and continuous planing of road surfaces with a minimum of interruptions, and hence one whose operation is eficient and economical. t 1 V A further object of the invention is to provide a machine of this type in which the working conditions to which the operator or operators are subjected are ameliorated, for example to reduce the extent to which the driver of the vehicle is exposed to hot gases or products of combustion.

Another object of theinvention is to provide a combined pavement heating, planing and cutting-removal machine which operates efficiently both when the material being planed is relatively dry, or when it is rich and sticky.

Still another object of the invention is to devise a conveyor for machines of the above type in which even rich and sticky cuttings are readily discharged from the lifting conveyor, and to accomplish this object without the. addition of any parts or mechanical complications. 7

Still a further object of the invention. is to provide a machine of the above type which is so 3 Claims. (Cl. 198174) 2 organized that the same prime mover maybe utilized for powering the air blower required in connection with the heating furnace, and for powering the conveyor by which the cuttings are lifted and discharged into an auxiliary vehicl or other receptacle.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a machine in which the distribution of weight with respect to the wheels of the prime moveris such as to maintain adequate traction both for driving and steering purposes.

The above-and other objects and advantages of the invention will best be understood by referring to the following detailed specification of a preferred embodiment thereof, reference beingmade to the accompanying drawings illustrating that embodiment, in which Fig. l is a side elevational view of the complete machine incorporating the improved structure, parts being broken away for clarity,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional View of the conveyor portion of the machine, taken on line 22v of Fig. 1, and t Fig. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary side elevation view of the upper end of the conveyor element, showing the displaced relationship of the center line of the drive sprocket with respect. to the center line of the frame of the conveyor.-

as referred to in the prior application, the same including forward support and steering wheels I 2 and preferably two tandem sets of rear wheels Hi. The side frames IEi-of the rear wheel assembly support the rearward weight of the machine,

the one side frame visible in Fig. 1 being broken awayin order not to obscure the parts lying between the right and left wheels. As is conventional, the forward part of the machine frame is in the form of a gooseneck l8 extending from about the drivers position to the front wheel assembly, and in the present embodiment I preferably provide a counterweight 20 located ,directly above these front wheels to aid in steering the vehicle. In the embodiment disclosed in my prior application, the fuel tank for the pavement heater was located in this position, but it was found that this not only prevented a clear view (from the drivers position) of the road ahead of the machine, but also resulted in a substantial variation in weight on the front wheels as the fuel in the tank was consumed. In the present embodiment, therefore, the fuel tank has been moved to a more rearward position, as will be described hereinafter.

The heating unit or furnace of'the machine is indicated by reference numeral 22 and has a forwardly extending snout provided with an exit aperture 24 extending across its forward face, so that the products of combustion and hot gases from the furnace 22v canpass upwardly about the front of the machine. "These hot gases will normally rise above the level of the driver in position it} before the machine has moved forwards very far, so that the drivers comfort is substantially increased as compared with the case of the earlier application, in which the combustion products left the furnace by way of an aperture at the bottom of its rear wall. The mixture of atomized and dispersed fuel oil and atmospheric air burned in the furnace is admitted thereto by passing through one or more burner tiles 2%, it being understood that the inner walls of the furnace are suitably lined as with heat-resistant stainless steel or the like. The nozzle 2s which forms the fuel mixture is supplied with air under pressure by a duct 39 extending to the rear of the machine (as will be described), and the fuel oil reaches said nozzle through a pipe or tube 3'2 (not shown completely) in communication with the fuel tank 3 which will be seen just to the rear of the drivers position and surmounting the normal fuel tank for the engine of the vehicle. A blower 33 supplies air in quantity through duct 36 (not shown completely) to .the' furnace, and is driven by a gasoline engine or thelike 38, this engine also furnishing power to a pump for forcing fuel from tank 34 to nozzle 28 Via tube 32 (not shown completely). In my prior application, the blower engine was mounted atop furnace 22, and a separate engine was provided topower the conveyor for the cuttings. The present arrangement enables one engine to be eliminated, with consequent savings in cost and increased ease of operation.

The planer blades, designated by reference number 36, are disposed behind the furnace 22, and are suspended and operate in the same manner as those of the earlier application referred to above. Any desired or well known arrangement of such blades may of course be employed, so long as the cutting occurs without interruption laterally of the intended width of treatment.

The engine 38, ,as has been stated, not only powers the blower 33, as by means of a belt drive, but also supplies the power for operating the elevating conveyor. of the engine is also belted to any suitable form of speed reducer unit 58, whose output shaft 42 is connected to drive the sprocket of the conveyor. The conveyor frame itself is identified by numeral M, whose bottom includes the wear plate 46 which contacts the ground as the machine travels thereover. The frame extends upwardly at an angle, as in my prior application, and is preferably mounted for limited sliding movement to accommodate itself to the surface being treated. The means for permitting this motion form no part of the present invention,

To this end, the shaft.

and may be of any desired form. Journalled at the lower end of the conveyor is the sprocket wheel 48, over which travels the conveyor chain or belt driven by the sprocket 50 connected to drive shaft 42.

In my prior application, the conveyor was of the link belt type in which certain of the links carried paddles or slats designed to sweep up the cuttings and elevate them for discharge into a truck, for example, positioned behind the road planing machine. This arrangement permitted continuous travel of the equipment, and worked very well except when the material being cut was sticky. In such cases, the slats or paddles became covered with the cuttings, which did not fall therefrom by gravity owing to their adhesive nature." The construction of the present invention overcomes this limitation in a very simple and novel manner, and this will now be described.

Referring now to Figures 2 and 3 of the drawings, in which parts of the conveyor structure are shown in greater detail, numeral 43 again designates the lower sprocket wheel over which passes the link belt formed of links 572 of known form. Every other link, or such number as required, carries a transverse blade or slat 55. The lower pass of the conveyor carries the blades as in a channel 5% having upturned side walls, the material being lifted being swept up and carried along this channel to the top of the device; After passing over upper sprocket wheel 53, the chain descends with the links 52 sliding along a second channel 58 to complete the circuit. These channels may have any required dimensions, and are preferably connected by side frameelements cc to provide a rigid structure. As best seen in Figure 3,-the upper or drive sprocket 5G is carried in a bearing supported in any desired'manner, as by an arm 52 carried by the lower channel 56. Power for driving the chain is provided bybevel gearing or the like contained in a housing 65 and driven through a universal joint 65 from shaft 42.

In order to ensure the removal of all cuttings from the conveyor blades or slats 54, I have found that the axis or shaft of sprocket 59 can be shifted to one side of the normal centerline of the conveyor frame, this lateral shift being indicated by the letter D in Figure 1, between the extension of a centerline extending parallel to the conveyor frame and the lower sprocket 48 or its axis. As will be clear from Figure 3, this lateral shift of the axis of upper sprocket 59 causes the links 52 to be drawn out of the channel in an angular fashion, each blade or slat 55 thus being flipped sharply as it is released from the end 68 of the channel. This'fiipping action ensures that any material sticking to the blades is thrown free, and passes by gravity into the truck or other receptacle provided for the purpose. The end of channel 55 may be suitably reenforced, if desired, to make it rigid and to extend its life against the wearing action of the blades as they are forcibly drawn over the edge.

I have found that the above arrangement Works very well in all kinds of material, and since it does not involve the addition of any moving parts or other complications to the usual form of conveyor, it is completely trouble-free in use. t has been proposed, of course, to provide conveyors of this general type with auxiliary elements such as beaters or the like to.

ensure the removal of material from the blades.

, sources of maintenance trouble.

'5 at the discharge end, but all such proposals are not only relatively more expensive, but are Also, while the principle of displacing one of the sprockets laterally with respect to the general center-line of the conveyor is especially valuable in an apparatus of the present kind, in which the material even when normally dry, is rendered somewhat sticky by the heat applied thereto in the planing operation, the same principle may also be utilized in conveyors for other purposes where it is desirable to ensure the dropping of the conveyed material.

As shown in the drawings, the amount of the offset D may be such as to place the axle of the upper sprocket wheel 50 about in line with the lower surface ofthe conveyor frame, but this dimension may be varied in accordance with conditions to produce varying degrees of the flipping action.

Having described my invention, and a preferred manner of accomplishing the same, I wish it to be understood that the details shown in the drawings are for purposes of illustration, and that the invention is not to be limited to such details except as may be required by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A self-cleaning conveyor of the link belt and blade type, comprising a framework including a channel, a link belt movable through said channel to carry material therealong, blades carried by said belt to discharge material from one end of said channel, and sprocket wheels carrying said link belt, one of said sprocket wheels being displaced laterally from the longitudinal center line of said framework to draw said blades against the end of said channel and 6 thereby to produce a flipping of said blades to discharge material therefrom.

2. A self-cleaning conveyor of the belt type, comprising a framework including a channel, a belt movable through said channel to carry material therealong, carrier members carried by said belt to discharge material from one end of said channel, and rotatable members carrying said belt, one of said rotatable members being displaced laterally from the longitudinal center line of said framework to draw said carrier members against the end of said channel and thereby to produce a flipping of said carrier members to discharge material therefrom.

3. A self-cleaning conveyor of the link belt and blade type, comprising a framework, a link belt movable adjacent said framework to carry material therealong, carrier members carried by said belt to discharge material adjacent said framework, and sprocket wheels carrying said link belt, one of said sprocket wheels being displaced laterally from the longitudinal center line of said framework to draw said carrier members against said framework thereby to produce a flipping of said carrier members to discharge material therefrom.

GEORGE M. JONES.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

